Pittsburgh Steelers 71st US football season
2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season |
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Owner | The Rooney Family |
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General manager | Kevin Colbert |
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Head coach | Bill Cowher |
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Home field | Heinz Field |
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Results |
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Record | 6–10 |
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Division place | 3rd AFC North |
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Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
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Pro Bowlers | - G Alan Faneca
- NT Casey Hampton
- WR Hines Ward
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AP All-Pros | Alan Faneca (2nd team) Hines Ward (2nd team) |
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Team MVP | Hines Ward |
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Team ROY | Troy Polamalu |
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The 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 71st season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
Their season began with the team trying to improve on their 10–5–1 record from 2002 in which they lost to the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round of the playoffs.
With the team suffering through injuries as well as less reliance on the running game than normal, the Steelers stumbled to a 6–10 record, going the entire season without winning consecutive games. Since moving to Heinz Field in 2001, this was the Steelers' first season with a losing record and their first season missing the playoffs. The team's record is tied with that of the 1999 season as the worst for a season under head coach Bill Cowher.
In his final season with the team, linebacker Jason Gildon became the franchise's career sack leader during a game against the Arizona Cardinals on November 9.
Since then, this represents the most recent losing season for the Steelers.
Personnel
2003 Pittsburgh Steelers staff | Front office - Chairman – Daniel M. Rooney
- President – Arthur J. Rooney II
- Vice president – John R. McGinley
- Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
- Administration advisor – Chuck Noll
- Director of business – Mark Hart
- Business accounting coordinator – Jim Ellenberger
- Human relations/office coordinator – Geraldine Glenn
- Business operations – Omar Khan
- Accounting manager – Jodie Spagnolli
- Communications coordinator – Ron Wahl
- Public relations/media manager – David Lockett
- Website/network administrator – Scott Phelps
- Marketing
- Director of marketing – Tony Quatrini
- Marketing coordinator – Rick Giugliano
- Client services administrator – Amy Corbett
- Marketing manager – John Wodarek
- Producer/broadcasting manager – Rick Fairbend
- Marketing/community relations manager – Lynne Molyneaux
- Marketing assistant – John Simpson
- Marketing assistant – Mike Marchinsky
- Ticket operations
- Ticket manager – Ben Lentz
- Season ticket assistant – Libby Patcher
- Football operations
- Director of football operations – Kevin Colbert
- College scouting coordinator – Ron Hughes
- Pro scouting coordinator – Doug Whaley
- Pro/college scout – Phil Kreidler
- College scout – Mark Gorscak
- College scout – Bob Lane
- College scout – Bruce McNorton
- College scout – Dan Rooney
- College scout – Bill Nunn
- BLESTO Scout – Kelvin Fisher
Head coaches Offensive coaches | | | Defensive coaches - Defensive coordinator – Tim Lewis
- Defensive line – John Mitchell
- Linebackers – Keith Butler
- Defensive backs – Darren Perry
- Defensive assistant – Lou Spanos
Special teams coaches - Special teams – Kevin Spencer
Strength and conditioning - Conditioning coach – Chet Fuhrman
- Medical staff
- Ophthalmologist – Dr. Randy Beatty
- Physician, orthopedic – Dr. James P. Bradley
- Neurological surgeon – Dr. Joseph Maroon
- Physician, M.D. – Dr. Richard Rydze
- Physician, consultant – Dr. Abraham J. Twerski
- Physician, M.D. – Dr. Anthony P. Yates
- Training staff
- Head athletic trainer – John Norwig
- Assistant athletic trainer – Ryan Grove
- Assistant athletic trainer – Ariko Iso
- Football staff
- Player development coordinator – Anthony Griggs
- Equipment manager – Rodgers Freyvogel
- Field manager – Rich Baker
- Field/equipment assistant – Kalvin Jones
- Video coordinator – Bob McCartney
- Video assistant – Andy Lizanich
- Video assistant – Rob Brakel
- Photographers – Mike Fabus
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Notable additions include Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor.
Roster
2003 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster |
| Quarterbacks Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends | | Offensive linemen Defensive linemen | | Linebackers Defensive backs Special teams | | Reserve lists Practice squad [2] [3] [4] [5] Rookies in italics 53 active, 5 inactive, 5 practice squad |
Preseason
Schedule
Regular season
Schedule
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1
Week One: Baltimore Ravens (0–0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0)
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Ravens | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 15 |
Steelers | 6 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 34 |
at Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Date: September 7
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: Mostly cloudy • 75 °F (24 °C) • Wind 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h; 2.6 kn)
- Game attendance: 63,157
- Referee: Ron Winter
- TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pittsburgh won their season opener for the first time since 1999.[6]
Scoring summary |
Quarter | Time | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Plays | Yards | TOP | BAL | PIT | 1 | 10:19 | 10 | 69 | 4:41 | Steelers | 29-yard field goal by Jeff Reed | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4:01 | 8 | 15 | 3:21 | Steelers | 31-yard field goal by Jeff Reed | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2:57 | 8 | 90 | 4:08 | Steelers | Hines Ward 4-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox, Jeff Reed kick good | 0 | 13 | 3 | 9:49 | 8 | 60 | 3:23 | Steelers | Jay Riemersma 20-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox, Jeff Reed kick good | 0 | 20 | 3 | 3:54 | 1 | 28 | 0:07 | Steelers | Hines Ward 28-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Maddox, Jeff Reed kick good | 0 | 27 | 3 | 1:56 | 3 | 80 | 1:58 | Ravens | Jamal Lewis 14-yard touchdown run, Matt Stover kick good | 7 | 27 | 4 | 9:01 | 9 | 48 | 3:59 | Steelers | Amos Zereoue 8-yard touchdown run, Jeff Reed kick good | 7 | 34 | 4 | 4:22 | 3 | 2 | 1:02 | Ravens | Travis Taylor 5-yard touchdown reception from Kyle Boller, 2-point pass good | 15 | 34 | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 15 | 34 | |
Week 2
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | Steelers | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 | • Chiefs | 7 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 41 | |
Week 3
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | • Steelers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 | Bengals | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | |
Week 4
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | • Titans | 0 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 30 | Steelers | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 13 | - Date: September 28
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 63,244
- Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C) (Cloudy)
- Referee: Walt Anderson
- TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson and Brent Jones
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Week 5
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | • Browns | 10 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 33 | Steelers | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 | |
Week 6
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | Steelers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 14 | • Broncos | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 17 | |
Week 8
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | • Rams | 7 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 33 | Steelers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 | - Date: October 26
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 62,665
- Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C) (Light Rain)
- Referee: Johnny Grier
- TV announcers (Fox): Sam Rosen & Bill Maas
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This was the 1,000th game in Steelers history.
Week 9
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | Steelers | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 16 | • Seahawks | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 23 | |
Week 10
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | Cardinals | 0 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 15 | • Steelers | 0 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 28 | - Date: November 9
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 59,520
- Game weather: 41 °F (5 °C) (Sunny)
- Referee: Jeff Triplette
- TV announcers (Fox): Ron Pitts & Tim Ryan, and Alby Oxenreiter
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Week 11
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | Steelers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | • 49ers | 7 | 3 | 14 | 6 | 30 | |
Week 12
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | • Steelers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 13 | Browns | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
The Steelers were the only team in the 2003 season to play on the road following a Monday night road game. The NFL at that time had typically given teams that traveled for a Monday night game either a home game or their bye week the following week. Steelers head coach Bill Cowher objected to the team playing a road game after a Monday night road game. Team president Dan Rooney said that he would not pursue the matter with the NFL, noting that the second game was in Cleveland, only 112 miles (180 km) from Pittsburgh.[7]
Week 13
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | • Bengals | 7 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 24 | Steelers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 20 | - Date: November 30
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 58,797
- Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C) (Sunny)
- Referee: Bernie Kukar
- TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui & Steve Tasker
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Week 14
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | Raiders | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | • Steelers | 0 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 27 | - Date: December 7
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 53,079
- Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C) (Partly Cloudy)
- Referee: Johnny Grier
- TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson & Brent Jones
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Week 15
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | Steelers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | • Jets | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
Week 16
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | Chargers | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 | • Steelers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 40 | - Date: December 21
- Location: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 4:05 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 52,527
- Game weather: 37 °F (3 °C) (Sunny)
- Referee: Bill Carollo
- TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui & Steve Tasker
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Week 17
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | Steelers | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | • Ravens | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | - Date: December 28
- Location: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
- Game start: 8:30 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 70,001
- Referee: Walt Anderson
- TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Paul Maguire & Suzy Kolber
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Standings
Honors and awards
References
- ^ 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
- ^ 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
- ^ 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
- ^ "2003 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
- ^ "2004 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
- ^ ESPN.com. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ^ "Cowher says NFL scheduling puts team in bad spot for next 2 weeks". old.post-gazette.com. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
External links
- 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Pro Football Reference
- 2003 Pittsburgh Steelers season statistics at jt-sw.com
Pittsburgh Steelers seasons |
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Formerly the Pittsburgh Pirates (1933–1939) |
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Pittsburgh Steelers |
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- Founded in 1933
- Formerly the Pittsburgh Pirates (1933–1939)
- Based and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Franchise | |
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Stadiums | |
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Culture | |
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Lore | |
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Rivalries | |
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Media | |
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Division championships (24) | |
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Conference championships (8) | |
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League championships (6) | |
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Retired numbers | |
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Hall of Fame members | |
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Current league affiliations | |
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